By Page Chapman

The last time the Collegiate Cougars varsity football team started a season 4-0 was 2013. Josh Young (‘30), Rowan Zelenak (‘30), and Cam Bavedly (‘30), all Freshmen playing significant minutes for the Cougars this season, were all one year old. The last time the team was 5-0 was 2005, when the team was led by Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson. Coming off of last year’s 4-5 season, this year’s team has already surpassed their win total from last year. After huge wins against Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and Northumberland High School, the Cougars look to extend their win streak to six this Friday, Oct. 9 against Benedictine College Prep.

The energy heading into week 1 for the Cougars was at an all-time high, after a long, grueling five-week summer camp. The Cougars were ready to set the tone early for the season. Center Randy Sulanke (‘28) detailed, “the boys were just super excited to get back on the field and show what we had been working on all summer long.” The Collegiate students showed up and showed out, heading up on buses to Charlottesville to go support the Cougars on Friday, August 28, before school had even started. This energy transferred directly onto the field, when quarterback Sam Settar (‘27) had a late touchdown run, setting the Cougars apart from the Albemarle Patriots. The final score was 23-7, which catapulted the Cougars to 1-0.

The rain could not stop the Cougars in week 2. Collegiate hosted Potomac on a rare Saturday game at Grover Jones Field on Sat., Sept. 5. Unfortunately, mother nature had something to say. A significant rainstorm prevented the Cougars from extending their 7-0 lead in the first half. This resulted in the game being stopped in the 2nd quarter and postponed for the next three hours. Star running back Bo Woodard (‘28) described the rain delay as “adversity, but the brotherhood of our locker room got us through.” The Cougars immediately came out of the break to score multiple touchdowns. Although the delay was lengthy, the Cougars came out hot, ultimately finishing the game with a win, 24-0.

As the energy around the team started to rise, the Saint Anne’s-Belfield squad walked in with a boatload of confidence, visiting Collegiate for a rare Thursday game on Sept. 10. The Cougars looked more focused than ever, jumping out to an early 28-0 lead, and their confidence was starting to rise. The Cougars later raced out to a 41-21 lead, which ultimately was too much to handle for STAB, ending in a Cougars win. “3-0 was not the goal; we have to keep going,” said tight end William Real (‘28) after the win.

On Friday, Sept. 18,  the Cougars had to make the long trip down to Nansemond-Suffolk, a team that they have handily beaten in previous years. Everyone was expecting the Cougars to handle business early, but that was not the case this time. The Cougars found themselves down 0-14 at halftime. This was the first time the Cougars had been behind all season long. Co-captain Crawford Shield (’27) said a “next-play-up mentality” ultimately led the Cougars to scoring 28 unanswered points, which led them to a 28-14 win. Now the Cougars were 4-0 and starting to gain local attention, and they were named Team Of The Week by CBS 6 on Sept 22.

Raising the trophy after the Cougars were named the CBS6 Team of the Week. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Next, they faced a new challenge. The Northumberland Indians, also with a 4-0 record, took the trip down to Grover Jones on September 26, and they were no match for Collegiate. The Cougars bolted out to an early 28-0 lead, led by multiple touchdown receptions by Barkley Jamison (‘28) and Andrew Rodgers (‘29). As the game moved along, the Cougars ended up victorious over the Indians, with a final score of 59-6.

After a bye week, the Cougars’ next match up will be against a familiar foe, the Benedictine Cadets, on Friday, Oct 9 at 4:00 p.m. at Bobby Ross Stadium.